Bingham Fluid

Notes

Bingham fluids are pastes that act as solids under light stress or pressure, but flow like viscous or viscoelastic liquids once the applied stress or pressure is stronger. Scroll down for purchasing information and links.

They are often made up of networks of particles or rope-like molecules. These constituents softly stick to each other, creating a gel-like solid. If the applied stress is too weak to unstick the constituents, the fluid remains solid. Once enough stress is applied to unstick the constituents (particles or rope-like molecules), the paste flows.

It takes a little time for things – even tiny particles and polymers -to stick to each other. So once the fluid is flowing, the “stickiness” may add to the effective “friction” of the fluid, but it’s less than when the fluid is sitting still.

I’ve tried to capture some of the microstructural ideas and flow ideas in the details of the drawing. If you look carefully you can see some of the equations describing Bingham pastes and flows – sorry if they’re not all clear.

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About The Nerdly Painter, Dr. Regina Valluzzi

Dr. Regina Valluzzi has an extensive scientific background in nanotechnology and biophysics. She explores abstract scientific concepts through complex
geometric paintings. Many of the subjects of her abstract drawings and paintings are taken from topics in Physics research. Soft Matter Physics and Biological Physics ideas are often seen, arising from Dr. Valluzzi's main area of research for many years. In addition to motifs and ideas drawn directly from molecular biology, biophysics, and nearby fields, her art often incorporates aspects of self-similarity, and elements from math and physics topics that have long held a fascination for her.

Her scientific accomplishments include over thirty articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, several patents, an encyclopedia chapter as a subject matter expert, and invited talks in the US, Europe, and Japan. She has been a scientist in the chemical industry, a green chemistry researcher, a research professor in the engineering school at Tufts, a start-up founder engaged in technology commercialization, a start-up and commercialization consultant, and a science-themed artist.

Dr. Valluzzi has always held a strong interest in the visual arts and in visual information, allowing visual arts ideas to permeate her technical work and vice versa. She was educated in Materials Science at MIT, obtaining a second B.S. degree in music with a minor in visual studies. During her PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst she completed a thesis requiring advanced electron microscopy, image analysis, and theoretical data modeling. These experiences provided the visual insights and experiences that inform much of her work as an artist.